*put, put, put* All The Way To Pengerang

Having been there once before, E and I were quite eager to experiment organising a half-day trip to Pengerang, a town at the southeast part of Johor. Since we were quite familiar with the transport arrangements between Singapore and Tanjung Pengelih (nearest jetty to Pengerang), we figured it would be quite safe to invite a few friends to join us for lunch at the small fishing village.

There are two ways to get to Tanjung Pengelih from Singapore:
1. Bumboat from Changi Point Ferry Terminal
- Journey takes about 1 hour 20 mins
- $108 one-way per boat with a maximum number of 12 passengers ($9 per person)
- No fixed departure times (boat departs when all 12 spaces are filled or paid for, so unless you have a party of 12 ready to depart or are prepared to pay $108 regardless of number of passengers, there is a whole of lot waiting around to do)

2. Penguin Ferry from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal
- Journey takes about 50 mins
- $21 one-way per person (you're paying for speed and air-conditioning)
- Departs at four fixed times daily (but you need to factor in more formal pre-departure procedures like checking in 1 hour before departure)

Considering it was a weekend, we were fairly confident that there would be other travelers waiting to fill a boat to Pengerang and we were right. It didn't take long before we made our way out to sea in a well-seasoned wooden vessel. The combination of sea breeze, engine vibration and midday heat quickly set us into siesta mode once the initial excitement wore itself out.

By the time we arrived at Tanjung Pengeling, most of us had only one thing on our mind - lobster! We hopped into two taxis that brought us to the Pengerang town centre in 15 mins at a fixed rate of RM20 per cab. There are quite a number of seafood restaurants around town offering similar specialities, but we opted to stick to what we knew was good and settled for Jade Garden Seafood Restaurant.

We kept concious of time to ensure we could catch the last bumboat back to Changi Point, which leaves at 4pm. So, we cut short plans of wandering about town and quickly cabbed our way back to the jetty. As we approached the terminal we saw a mass of people crowding around the bumboat ticketing counter, trying to get on the last bumboat out! Uh-oh, are we stranded here?

Luckily there were the Penguin ferries to fall back on. The next ferry out was at 6pm, so we had two hours to kill and no way were we going to pay another RM40 to go back to town. So we walked around the compound, chit-chatted, ate ice cream, napped and before long it was time to board.

By the time we arrived at the Tanah Merah terminal it was 7pm and time for dinner.

While Pengerang is a pleasant kampung getaway, it is necessary to know the transport options well and allocate an appointment-free day for the adventure.


Off we go!


Still fresh and excited


15 mins into the ride


Yay! We're here!


On the way to Pengerang town from Tanjung Pengelih jetty in a cab



Glorious food!


It was a little odd to suddenly have two hours of nothing to do


Pondering...


Checking out what the Japanese left behind


Sleeping off the heavy lunch while waiting for the next ride back (to be fair, some of these guys came on the trip right after a marathon that morning)


Finally, time to go home